Director: Peter Lorenz
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Matthew Lillard
Running Time: 111 Minutes
Certificate: 12a
Synopsis: Ailing baseball scout Gus Lobel (Clint Eastwood) takes his daughter Mickey (Amy Adams) along for one last recruiting trip. Forced to spend time together for the first time in years, each makes new discoveries – revealing long-held truths about their past and present that could change the prospects for their future.
Robert Lorenz has worked as first assistant director and later producer on every Clint Eastwood film since 1997’s ABSOLUTE POWER, and it’s clear he’s been influenced by his mentor on TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE, a character-driven film with slow, methodical pacing. It is however much lighter fare than Eastwood normally delivers himself, working to create a pleasant, if fairly average film.
The three central performances from Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake are, for the most part, likeable and well delivered. It would be a lie to say that they play against type, Eastwood being the gruff old man, Adams being the strong-willed daughter, and Timberlake playing her charismatic love interest, but whilst offering up few surprises they deliver what is expected of them. The chemistry between all three is solid and lifts the film up, although the one-on-one scenes between Gus and Mickey have a tendency to play out the same way almost every time. The film’s real problem isn’t so much the characters however, but the story these characters are in. Like the performances, TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE is a film that offers absolutely no surprises. Every beat is laid out in a straight line and anyone looking for any twists will be very disappointed. Even if you can accept that, the dialogue often feels overly scripted to the point it can be difficult to take seriously. Some of the lines sound like they’ve come straight out of a bad film trailer and it’s a shame since this takes away from moments that should be tender.
Overall, TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE isn’t bad – there are good elements and it would be unfair to dismiss the film completely. It’s just not quite as good as the sum of its parts and there’s little doubt that it could’ve used a curveball on its own (HIYO!).
TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE hits UK cinemas on 30th November while it has already been on general release in the US.
